Resilient water infrastructure partnerships in institutionally complex systems face challenging supply and financial risk tradeoffs

Hamilton, A. L.; Reed, P. M.; Gupta, R. S.; Zeff, H. B.; Characklis, G. W.

doi:10.1038/s41467-024-51660-8

Title: Resilient water infrastructure partnerships in institutionally complex systems face challenging supply and financial risk tradeoffs

Journal Article · 26 August 2024 · Nature Communications

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51660-8 · OSTI ID:2438095

;

; Gupta, R. S.; Zeff, H. B.;

Abstract As regions around the world invest billions in new infrastructure to overcome increasing water scarcity, better guidance is needed to facilitate cooperative planning and investment in institutionally complex and interconnected water supply systems. This work combines detailed water resource system ensemble modeling with multiobjective intelligent search to explore infrastructure investment partnership design in the context of ongoing canal rehabilitation and groundwater banking in California. Here we demonstrate that severe tradeoffs can emerge between conflicting goals related to water supply deliveries, partnership size, and the underlying financial risks associated with cooperative infrastructure investments. We show how hydroclimatic variability and institutional complexity can create significant uncertainty in realized water supply benefits and heterogeneity in partners’ financial risks that threaten infrastructure investment partnership viability. We demonstrate how multiobjective intelligent search can design partnerships with substantially higher water supply benefits and a fraction of the financial risk compared to status quo planning processes. This work has important implications globally for efforts to use cooperative infrastructure investments to enhance the climate resilience and financial stability of water supply systems.

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Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-76RL01830

OSTI ID:: 2438095

Journal Information:: Nature Communications, Journal Name: Nature Communications Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 15; ISSN 2041-1723

Publisher:: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United Kingdom

Language:: English

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